Mya Thomasmeyer

I would say flexibility, especially because I'm early in my career. I want to be able to bring new insights and all of the fun things you learned during college to your career, but learning first what goes on and what can be improved without shutting down the entire organization is super important. So just reminding yourself to, oh, you have great ideas, that's fantastic, but find a way to implement them that won't put a ton of extra work on everyone else. It's about being flexible in your mindset and understanding how to contribute meaningfully without overwhelming the team.

The best advice I've gotten is to be positive and listen, above everything else. Everyone wants to feel heard, so listen and be very active in that listening. Follow up on it. If you're talking to anyone in leadership in the nonprofit, they want to make sure that their ideas are being heard and that they are making a big impact. Whether it's a donor or constituent, they want to know where their money is going and how they can help, because if they're to the point where they're donating, they're very interested in whatever program you're facilitating. So it's important that they are involved in some way, and just listening and hearing their story is also a rewarding end to the day as well.

I would say mess something up. It's the best way to learn. Even if it's wrong, that practice of just speaking up during a meeting and saying something, even a stupid question, is usually a good one. If you have a stupid question about an event coming up, more than likely other people are thinking it too. There are no true stupid questions. It might not be the most relevant, but just start practicing. It's something that you do and you move on from. Especially with how much social media we have and how much access we have to other people's lives, it's really easy to see, oh, this person from my high school is doing so well and doing amazing things, but it's not really comparable. You're not seeing them having problems at work or trying to do other things. You're only seeing the success. So it's really important to just be flexible in your mindset.

Education is the most important value that I can have, and it does dive into my career as well. My mom and my dad, but mainly my mom, all throughout my life has really encouraged education and propped it up to the point where I had self-assigned summer school all throughout elementary school through high school in my worst subjects, so I wouldn't have any areas that I'm falling short on. It was compelling, but it definitely helped. I also value compassion. I just love the people around me, and I try to devote as much time as possible to making them smile. I think it's the most fun thing in the world, and making sure everyone feels as valued as they should.